Radial Creeping flow between two parallel discs

A part of a lubrication system consists of two circular discs and the lubricant flows in the radial
direction. The flow takes place because of modified pressure (p1- p2) between the inner and outer
radii r1 and r2 respectively. Formulate the problem for velocity profile and mass flow rate
through the system.

Fig 19.1 Radial flow in space between two parallel circular discs
Assumptions

1. Density and viscosity are constant

2. Steady state.
3. Laminar flow (simple shear flow).
4. Newton's law of viscosity is applicable.

Velocity profile The fluid is flowing in the r direction. Hence, the only non-zero component of
velocity is vr and it depends on the both r and z. It will not depend on the θ coordinate due to
cylindrical symmetry. i.e.,

Applying the equation of continuity in cylindrical coordinates

or

or

Thus, is a constant and which may be a function of the z,

 Using the r-component of the Navier–Stokes equation in cylindrical co-ordinate systems, we
have

By substituting Equation (19.5), we get

Equation (19.7) is a second order partial differential equation and may not solve analytically.
However, we may obtain an analytical solution for the limiting case when the flow is very slow
(also called a creeping flow). In such a scenario, we may neglect the convective term (on the left
hand side) in Equation (19.7) and thus, we have

Multiplying r on both sides, we have

or

In Equation (19.9), the left hand side is a function of r only, while the right hand side is a
function of z only. Since this equation is valid for all possible values of r and z, both the terms

should be equal to each other, and in turn equal to a constant, , independent of r and z.
Therefore,

or

From Equation (19.10), we get

or

Substituting Equation (19.13) into Equation (19.11), we find

or

Boundary conditions No-slip is valid at both the plates. Thus,

at

By substituting these boundary conditions in Equation (19.15), we have

At z=0, the velocity profile is symmetric. Therefore, this is the second required boundary
condition for the problem

This leads to the solution and

or

Finally, we obtain the velocity profile

The mass flow rate of at any r in the system must be the same (in fact that was the reason, why

we got constant for a given in the first place). Select the surface at to obtain
mass flow rate

or
Parallel – disc viscometer A fluid is placed in a gap (of thickness B) between two parallel discs
of radius R. The lower disc is kept stationary while the upper disc is made to rotate at a constant
angular velocity . Formulate the problem for determining the viscosity at low shear rates.

Fig 19.2 Front view of two-plate viscometer

Assumptions

1. Density and viscosity are constant.

2. Steady state.
3. Laminar flow (simple shear flow).
4. Newton's law of viscosity is applicable.

Velocity profile The fluid is sheared in the θ direction; hence, vθ is the non-zero component of
velocity. Applying the equation of continuity in cylindrical coordinate, we obtain

Thus, vθ, does not depend on the θ coordinate, or

For simplifying the problem further, we may assume that for low shear rates

Using the θ component of the Navier – Stokes equation for cylindrical co-ordinate systems
By substituting Equation (19.25), we get

or

After integration, we finally obtain

where and are the integral constant. Boundary conditions are

at , or
thus,

and at or

This boundary condition leads to the solution

and

Finally, we obtain the velocity profile

Now, the z-component of the torque exerted on the fluid by the upper rotating disc, may be
calculated as

or
Finally, we obtain the value of torque.

Thus, by plotting the angular velocity vs torque Tz, the viscosity may be determined.